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Welcome to the February 2007 Children's Workers' newsletter. |
With all the snow in the south east this week it is hard to believe that Lent is only days away. We have updated our Lent and Easter resource pages on the website and we hope there is something there that will support you through your work with children over the weeks ahead. There are many other opportunities detailed below where support for your work with children can be found, remember to check out the Training section of the website. We hope to see you along at the Building Strong Towers training tour which is a landmark series of events for all our work!
Don't Miss Out! Do you live near any of the following locations - Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Hounslow, Cambridge, Darlington, Bristol, or Preston? Did you know that 10 is the peak age for being bullied according to research and 32% of children have been bullied, 8% are bullied at least once a fortnight? It is these facts and others that have led us to offer a series of events in the above locations aimed at helping children through difficult times with issues such as bullying, family problems or life at school. We are working with Scripture Union, the Church of England, the United Reformed Church and children’s charity NCH to develop the events. Author Robert Harrison will lead an interactive workshop on his book The Strong Tower, which uses Bible stories of people in hard situations to show how we can support others. Local and national experts will offer practical support around the tough issues children encounter in the world today. The cost for the evening is £10 per person or £5 unwaged. Each event will have a resource marketplace and a bookstall. Download the Information and Booking Form here
Heart of Worship ConferenceA conference for people who care about the development of worship and want to be empowered to make it better, heart of worship will include international speakers, workshops, exhibitions and a varied programme of worship. A children's programme will be offered! Be inspired and empowered and enjoy fellowship |
Friends and Heroes
The planned broadcast date is 12th March until the 23rd March at lunchtimes on CBBC. Further information on www.friendsandheroes.com Face 2 Faith
Groups are invited to enter a photo competition on inter-faith relations |
Friends and Heroes is a new animated series aimed at six – ten year olds. The programmes seek to entertain, educate and inform the audience, introducing a new generation, whatever their faith, to the stories of the Old and New Testament. This approach - of setting Bible stories in living contexts amongst the people who kept them alive, by passing them on ‘down the line’ to children - runs throughout as a constant motif. Friends and Heroes introduces Biblical stories in an appealing, fresh and memorable way, through the innovative use of combined 2D and 3D animation.Prayer Handbook 2007 Got some budding prayer writers in your children's group? Then why not encourage them to send some prayers for The Methodist Prayer Handbook? The title of the 2007/8 Handbook will be “All things in Christ” (from Charles Wesley’s hymn “Come, sinners, to the gospel feast”, no. 460 in Hymns and Psalms) which suggests themes of the integrity of creation and the kinship of all humanity. Prayers should be a maximum of 150 words long. If you have any images which might be suitable, please also feel free to send these. It would be useful to have material by 23rd Feb but work will continue on the Handbook until mid-April so anything received until Easter may be considered. Send any items to editorial@quantrillmedia.com |
Children's Rights Speaking out for all children is a major concern for The Methodist Church. Helping children, parents and children's workers to be informed about and involved in implementing the United Nations agreement on children's rights is an important step. Two helpful new booklets have just been published by the Children's Rights Alliance.
The Activity Book for younger children is colourful, informative and interactive - excellent to build a children's group session on. £15 for five books.
Children's Human Rights is a pocket-size book aimed at older children and includes some case-studies. £10 for five books.
Both are available from Children's Rights Alliance for England, 94 White Lion St., London N1 9PF 020 7278 8222 www.crae.org.uk
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Poverty Action Sunday Poverty Action Sunday is fast approaching (February 18th!) and the theme this year is based on our new programme of study, reflection and action entitled 'Just Church'. As individual Christians and as local churches we are called on not just to have a duty but a passion for promoting social justice. This is what the 'Just Church' theme is intended to reinforce on Poverty Action Sunday 2007. Included in the Poverty Action Sunday resource pack are:
You can download the material from http://www.church-poverty.org.uk/resources/PAS/ |
The John Wesley School
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MethodistChildren were delighted to be invited along to the laying of the foundation stone for a brand new Methodist Anglican Primary School. The John Wesley Church of England Methodist Voluntary Aided Primary School will be open for business later this year in Singleton, South Ashford, Kent. The stone was laid on the 24th January by Rev John Hellyer, Chair of the South East District, and Rt Rev Stephen Venner, Bishop of Dover (pictured). The worship after the stone laying was held in St Simon's Roman Catholic Church which was a wonderful place to be during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.Methodist Youth and Children's Workers' Conference A joint conference from MAYC and Methodist Children primarily for full and part-time workers with children and young people. If you know of any workers who would benefit from this conference please let them know all about it! Download the Information and Booking form here. |
High Leigh Conference CentreDistrict Link Day This time last year we held a very successful Day for those in the Districts of The Methodist Church who have some responsibility for children's work. It was much appreciated so we have planned another on Saturday 10th March 2007 at Methodist Church House. We hope to have every District is represented and so we are asking you to check that your District has someone attending. This is a crucial time as you probably have heard or read by now that The Methodist Church is intending to ‘withdraw or substantially reduce’ the support it gives to children’s and youth work. In other words it is not intended that MethodistChildren will continue beyond the middle of next year, so some of our day will be looking at:
We will also be looking at recent resources produced by MethodistChildren and the issues they raise
We’ll also share the news and experiences from each of the districts, so that you know who is doing what and what might be worth trying in your area. For further details contact us at children@methodistchurch.org.uk |
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If
you require any further information please contact us on children@methodistchurch.org.uk MethodistChildren is part of the Connexional Team of the |
